Ease My Troubles
by TheLifeILive
Summary: Did she even have an inkling of what she did for him simply by being her? Not a songfic.


**Well, not quite the way I'd like to come back from an extended absence. This didn't turn out as fluffy as I wanted it to. I begged, cajoled, got down on my knees, but this story just didn't want to be any fluffier than it had to be. In fact, it hardly wanted to be written at all, but I desperately wanted to write something so I wrote something. I had no idea what to write though and I never feel like it's as good when it's forced. **

**Once I have to begin writing papers again and need something to distract me then the ideas will come back, but until then you'll have to settle for this. And as an added bonus, it's not edited. So let me know if there are any glaring grammatical errors.  
**

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Her lips moved, words flowed through them, very important words no doubt and, more likely than not, words that were not part of his vocabulary. At one point this would have irked him to no end, but now it had a completely opposite effect. It was oddly…soothing.

How had it happened?

It didn't make sense. It wasn't rational. Not that he was the king of rational behavior; he had nothing on her when it came to traveling down every avenue of inquiry when sorting out a dilemma. But even this man, undeniably a heart man, knew that this wasn't logical.

He watched her, furrowed his brow as he concentrated on understanding what she was trying to tell him, but his mind began drifting. He could read the report later.

Nope, he really couldn't explain it.

When they had begun working together it had felt like every action on her part was geared towards antagonizing him, pushing his buttons, driving him over the edge. It seemed as though with every eye roll and every six syllable word she had been testing him. He knew that that hadn't exactly been the case, but it sure felt that way every time she made him feel like an idiot. And really, it wasn't like he needed help in that department. He already felt inadequate enough when it came to working with her.

Over time though, things had slowly begun to evolve. What had irritated and frustrated slowly became routine and gradually revealed itself for what it was. It wasn't until he had finally gotten over himself and his insecurities that he had begun to realize that this was Temperance Brennan. She was a head person, an empiricist and if they were going to make this partnership work then he would have to start accepting her for who she was. He eventually realized that her giving him the time of day at all was quite a miracle in itself. When he had met her, her list of friends had exactly one name on it. He could proudly say that that list had doubled.

And what a friend to have. He could honestly say that he had never, nor would ever have again, another person in his life quite like her. She never pulled punches, she never beat around the bush, what you saw was what you got and this fact quickly became the aspect of her personality that he appreciated most

When all those elements of her personality and quirks of her character that had once annoyed the hell out of him had become the one thing in life that he could count on, the thing he sought after when life was running circles around him and leaving him beaten and bruised, he wasn't sure.

By all accounts, her extreme rationality, her social awkwardness, her inability to learn how to differentiate between the right and wrong time for brutal honesty, should not be the eye in the midst of his stormy life, but they had certainly become just that. If nothing else was true, she was. These elements of her character, taken on their own, were enough to drive a man to drink, but combined and woven into this certain woman were all he needed now to remind him that whenever life dealt him a crappy hand, he couldn't really lose.

When he was upset, angry at God, angry at the world, it was to her that he could run to and somehow find comfort in the fact that she was still the same – still as irritating as ever – but she was…her. She was never pulling him one way and then shoving him another. Never forcing him to do one thing then demanding an explanation as to why he had done it. For all her faults, he looked at her and saw something, something he envied. She took life in stride; whatever it threw at her she pushed right back and kept moving forward. Sure she needed help sometimes, more than she'd probably admit, but she always made it through somehow.

He simply needed to be a part of it all. He needed to play a part, even if it was only a supporting role, in the crazy, mixed up, and yet completely ordered and rational, life that she was leading with confidence and a fighting spirit. It gave him a peace that he had never known, to feel that whatever happened, she was there. And she was on his side. Did she even have an inkling of what she did for him simply by being her?

Even during one of their infamous bickering sessions that made him want to tear his hair out, his faith in their conncection and his security in their odd relationship never wavered. Underneath the irritaion and frustration there was a sense of the familiar that allowed him to take comfort in the fact that the next morning he would greet her with coffee and everything would be alright again. So even at the moment that they were in each others faces a calm would steal over him - a sense that this was the way they were meant to be.

His troubles eased when she was around. It was as simple as that and yet not simple at all. Again, not particularly rational, but there it was. Temperance Brennan, his squinty, annoying, frustrating partner was now the one thing that took away all irritation, annoyance, lifted his burdens and gave him a stability and security that he hadn't felt in the longest time. But would she ever know? Would he ever tell her?

With the feelings of content and the 'easing of his troubles' came a whole knew set of troubles. The feelings he was beginning to feel because of what she did for him everyday. Who knew that finding the one person who could make your problems go away could bring about so many new ones?

He sighed and shook his head.

"Bones," he broke into her speech.

She gave him a look, obviously wondering what could be so important that it couldn't wait until she was finished.

"Are we eating dinner tonight?"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"I know I plan on eating tonight and I see no reason why you shouldn't," she said with a straight face.

He groaned. "I meant together Bones."

"I know," she said smiling. "Yes. Why, did you have plans? I just assumed…."

"No. No plans," he said quickly.

"Then why did you ask?" she said, puzzled.

"Just making sure," he said, smiling at her.

"Alright," she said slowly, "can I keep going then? Are you getting this?"

"Sure, but one question. Did you just make a joke?" He smiled and hoped that maybe he might be having one tenth of the effect on her that she had on him.

She just smirked and launched back into her speech.

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**So...yeah. Tell me what you thought. Please, I need to be consoled since I'll be missing the beginning of Season 4 next Wednesday. Nothing can make me feel better, but you could try.  
**

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